What will the future of work mean for your future career?

The future of work is an important topic, but many people only care about the future of their own work. This week, we helped everyone out by looking at both.

The World Economic Forum’s annual conference in Davos, Switzerland, took place last week. It focused in a big way on the future of work. We examined some of the changes expected to come down the pipeline.

Of course, one of the biggest changes looming on the horizon is the advent of artificial intelligence and robotics. Technologists frequently discuss what will happen when robots take all of our jobs. (Others, like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking see a future that’s a little more The Matrix/Terminator.)

This week, we took a look at the conversation from Davos around automation and how that affects our future employment.

While many life sciences professionals may be interested in applying for one of those Almac jobs, others are looking beyond these shores. Hays gave us some tips for expanding your life sciences brand and securing yourself an overseas role.

Of course, overseas work can do more than further your own ambitions – it can carry the ambitions of others. This week, we explored the lasting impact of a recent all-female expedition to Antarctica, intended to promote women in STEM.

We also got some forward-looking input from PwC. A recent study from the professional services firm showed – among other things – that Irish HR leaders are concerned about continuing skills shortages.

One solution to that skills shortage may hinge on those who have been out of the labour market returning to the office. This week, we got some advice from Hays on coming back to work after a career break.

Finally, we looked at one other important aspect of the future of work: global collaboration. As large companies become increasingly global, they face challenges in keeping their workforce on the same page. Dropbox presented a possible solution to those challenges.

Is your team based in one room, or do you collaborate across the globe? What if there was a way you could make that easier?

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Kirsty served as Silicon Republic’s Careers Editor from when she joined the company in 2015 up to August 2017. When she was younger, she had a dream where she started and won a fight with a T-Rex, so she’s pretty sure she kicked butt at this, too. Passions include eating all the cake, watching more TV than is healthy, and sassy comebacks. Her favourite thing on the internet is, and will likely remain, Pun Dog.

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